Your writing might include:

stories of life as a person of color or as a trans* or non-binary person

literotica and erotic memoirs

coming out stories (of any and all kinds)

stories of powerful and empowering BDSM, kink, and other non/sexual relationships

unexpected encounters and queer romance

personal revelations of all sorts

other amazing, interesting, and boundary-pushing work

Our press is committed to diversity in publishing, to honoring the authentic stories and storytelling experiences of all cultures, and to dismantling the colonization of traditional publishing. Our submission process is not blind; we are especially interested in printing work by writers of color, trans*/genderqueer/gender non-conforming writers, writers on the fringe of traditional culture, and writers creating new culture and society.

We are reading for The Lion's Tail, our monthly long-form essay publication. Each submission requires a $5 reading fee. This is specifically to generate the funds necessary to pay our authors. If paying the reading fee is impossible for you, we understand. Please contact us directly to arrange a way for us to read your work.

Submission Guidelines:

We are currently accepting submissions of long-form literary narrative and creative non-fiction: pieces should be between 2000 and 6000 words in length.

We do not accept previously published work UNLESS the work is significantly changed such that it could be deemed a new piece. Essays from which an excerpt has been published will be considered. We accept simultaneous submissions, but request that you notify us immediately if a piece has been accepted elsewhere.

The Lion's Tail/Paper Lion Press requests first online publication rights. Upon publication, all rights revert back to the author. If you choose to publish the essay (or an excerpt of it) in another place, we ask credit for previous publication (and a link back to the published piece on our website, when applicable).

While we hunger for pieces that push the edges of genre, form, and narrative structure, we are not interested in pieces that include (in the way of promoting) violence against any individual or group, blatant racism/sexism/homophobia/transphobia, or any other language that demonizes or vilifies an individual or group. Stories about encountering and surviving these experiences are most definitely welcome and encouraged.

If you're in the process of writing a piece, but haven't quite finished it yet, feel free to send along an outline, a sample section of the writing, and anticipated word count. Our editor is happy to work with you if the piece feels like a great fit for The Lion's Tail.

If paying the reading fee is financially impossible for you, please let us know! We are committed to reading amazing work, and to paying our authors. We will work with you to get your words in front of our editor.

When you're ready to submit your work, please click the button below. It will redirect you to a site where you can enter your credit card information (via Stripe, a secure service) and complete a short form to submit your piece to us. At this time, we'd like you to copy and paste the entire text of your piece (or outline and sample) into the form. We will follow up by email to receive a pdf or other file.